journeys to the southern hemisphere part i: south africa & part ii: mozambique

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

These Are a Few of my Favourite Things and Lessons Learned

These are a Few of My Favourite Things

-buying airtime and having the freedom of no cellphone contract

-Tennis coconut biscuits

-Cadbury cashew and coconut chocolate bars

-Mrs. Balls chutney chips

-chicken breasts as a light afternoon snack

-using the bread slicer on fresh Spar white bread

-holding hands and walking down the street

-eating umngqushu with a spoon and meat with my hands

-speeding along the N2-student bus rides-spontaneous 4 part harmony

-roasted corn from the side of the road

-Shell Ultra City petrol stations-riding a Kombi to town and collecting taxi fare-Coke in a glass bottle-homegrown soap operas-giant bunches of spinach-Zambuk-Red Grapetiser-being on the workshop circuit-livestock in the middle of the highway or university campus-Rooibos tea-the term "runny stomach" and how common and natural it is to discuss

-KFC can taste like real food and is the true rainbow nation (evident by the security guards on payday)

-how to interpret "yho", "yebo", "aybo", "shame", and "is it?"

-loud voices and yelling do not mean people are fighting

-a bowl of meat can be a meal

-South African patience and how not to be frustrated when your transport shows up 5 hours late-I can pull over any vehicle anywhere if I have to pee-making friends with the car guards in your neighbourhood is smart

-enjoyment of house music-what constitutes a large lobola

-portability is an attractive trait in a woman
-it is not rude or unprofessional to answer your cellphone in a meeting or movie theatre or any other social gathering; in fact, it is a bigger deal to turn your cellphone off
-everyone loves a WSU strike

-when you decide to buy the premium insurance on your car rental, you are a grown up

-water and high heat are the enemies when cooking stewing meat and root vegetables

-when you invite someone to your house, they will bring along their girlfriend, cousins, and a driver-certain activities are attractive in certain people (eating meat, using toothpicks, peeing on the side of the road)

-exterminating ants is an uphill battle-pretending you don't have bed bugs is the best way to get rid of them-Canadian sarcasm and subtlety do not translate nor does Xhosa humour-speaking a little Xhosa is a great party trick

-how to cross the street (pedestrians have no rights, except as target practice for drivers)

There's much more to add to both lists, but it's amazing what you love and learn in 6 months!